Show R ZA happens one way or another the ring party of the year will take place in chicago with tony zale and rocky graziano at the head of the receiving line these two gave the big party of 1946 last summer in new york they turned in one ab ot of the greatest ring shows of all time and you can turn 8 the clock back to abel and cain or david and goliath few appreciate the number of g great reat fighters who have figured in past middleweight championships the list ls is one ot of the R graziano most brilliant in boxing history it includes jack dempsey the nonpareil from 1883 to 1895 after that we find such names as bob fitzsimmons Fite simmons tommy ryan kid mccoy philada philadelphia elphia jack obrien stanley ketchel billy frank klaus harry greb tiger flowers and mickey walker here you find many of the three starred names of ring history these men have written chapters that never will be forgotten by those who follow the leather throw ers dempsey fitzsimmons mccoy ketchel greb walk er slip us six greater names from the roped in sector of sport no one can yet class zale or graziano with the six leaders we have named we doubt that either belongs with these six masters although dempsey is well beyond our day and time but the old timers of other years have told us he belongs around the top certainly no one can argue the worth of fitzsimmons mccoy ketchel greb and walker they also could handle heavyweights heavy weights especially ruby robert one of the great fighters ol 01 all time a boxer and terrific puncher with middleweight legs and a heavyweight body still a great fighter at the age of 45 best since walker we doubt very much that zale or 01 graziano would have any great amount of luck against those mentioned above but the two zale and graziano Gr ariano are a big imar improvement 0 over those who have come along s since ince the toy bulldog meaning mickey walker traded his boxing gloves tor for an artists brush zale and graziano proved this part of the argument in a meeting that had even more action than the stars of the past ever turned I 1 in melodrama may not mean skill or 01 class but it happens to be something the publio public likes to see when it is ably handled bandied in 1939 the middleweight ste stew a included a weird mixture under the names of solly kreiger al hostak and ceferino garcia they were merely fillers in in 1940 zale arrived as the tha crown holder tony has been wearing the middleweight crown ever since including a long war lapse from 1941 up through 1945 while zale was in war service a young hard punching roughneck by bj the name of graziano came along like a midwestern tornado graziano was blessed with one great ring asset he could punch lie ile was bever r any too smart and he was wai never much of a boxer lie ile war wai never particular about observing any rules as he proved in his meeting with marty servo whom he b fouled and almost wrecked in a way graziano was something a softened up ring needed he was wa rough tough a braggart but after all a fighter and a puncher he was wai a also 0 a crowd pleaser and a able entry at the gate rocky had bad built up a bigger parl par of his reputation at wrecking opp appo bents who were badly outweighed he so hot when it came tc a matter of pound tor for pound tony can take it in his meeting with zale the chal lenger did about everything excell remove zales headpiece when I 1 saw rocky nail zale with a tul fur right to the jaw saw tony gc through the bottom rope apparently bleeding at every open port pore around the head in one ot of the early rounds the fight seemed to be over but zale got up and kept coming on OIL the defending champion con linued to take a terrific beating his eyes seemed glazed and his knees were wobbling here was wai about as game an exhibition as anyone ever had seen in the ring zale was dazed and dizzy he had taken the heaviest artillery grazi grail ano could throw and then suddenly after a body attack it wai wag graziano who cram crumpled pled to the floor and took the count this closed out one of the most dramatic meetings the ring ever has seen looking back to the days dayi of jem mace or john Law lawrenc renet sullivan zale a first class boxer surprised one by inability to keep hit chin and features away tron fron right hand but zale sur one even more by his unbelievable ability to soak up all this punishment and still allu have enough left tor for a body knockout |